Category: BASF

“It is time for BASF to recognise that the impact of the Marikana massacre is transgenerational”: Speech by Amina Hassan Fundi

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed shareholders and executives of BASF,

Allow me to paint a picture for you. Imagine a nine-year-old girl, surrounded by her loving family at the dinner table—mom, dad, and older brother. They’re sharing stories and laughter, basking in the warmth of their togetherness. Then, the phone rings, shattering the tranquility. You see, that call brought news of a man—a husband, a father, a hardworking employee—called to duty to serve his employers. But instead of returning home to his family, he met a violent end, killed in cold blood and lit up in flames. His story, once one of love and dedication, was reduced to a footnote—a mere “necessary sacrifice” in the pursuit of profit and production – by Lonmin, by Sibanye-Stillwater, by BASF. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/it-is-time-for-basf-to-recognise-that-the-impact-of-the-marikana-massacre-is-intergenerational-speech-by-amina-hassan-fundi/

“The Marikana massacre destroyed my whole family”: Speech by Ndikho Jokanisi Bomela

My name is Ndikho Jokanisi Bomela. I was nine-years-old when I became an orphan after my father, Semi Jokanisi, was killed on August 13 2012 in Marikana.

I am a man now. I have been to entabeni, the mountain, to perform the Xhosa cultural initiation rites to become a man. But I am also a man because I have had to grow up fast after my father was killed.

My father died for a wage of R12500, which BASF’s suppliers of platinum, Lonmin, refused to engage with the striking mineworkers about — colluding instead to have the strike resolved by the South African police. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/the-marikana-massacre-destroyed-my-whole-family-speech-by-ndikho-jokanisi-bomela/

Unable to identify even gross human rights violations: Our countermotions

Re agenda item 2: Appropriation of profit

The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany proposes that the appropriation of profit proposed by the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board be rejected.

Rationale:

Once again, the proposed dividend, which is unchanged from the previous year, is too high. Instead of cutting jobs and investments in the urgently needed socio-ecological transformation of all BASF divisions, the dividend should be reduced. The current dividend policy is not sustainable, it is in fact a waste of resources: the proposed dividend amount of over EUR 3 billion can already no longer be paid from the free cash flow of EUR 2.7 billion in 2023. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/unable-to-identify-even-gross-human-rights-violations-our-countermotions/

“If it is committed to cleaner supply chains, BASF has a commitment to these people”: Speech by Niren Tolsi


My name is Niren Tolsi, and I am a journalist from South Africa.

Since the massacre in Marikana in August 2012, which left 34 men dead, photojournalist Paul Botes and I have documented what has happened to some of the mine-workers who survived that fatal day and the forty-four families who lost loved ones at Marikana — a project we called After Marikana.

Through this project, we aimed to investigate the real cost of the Marikana massacre to families, to communities and — through this microscope of the intimate — this strange new South Africa that Marikana has ushered in by echoing the bloody massacres of our apartheid past. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/if-it-is-committed-to-cleaner-supply-chains-basf-has-a-commitment-to-these-people-speech-by-niren-tolsi/

Completely inadequate consequences of forced labour risks in China: Our countermotions

Re agenda item 2: Appropriation of profit

The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany proposes that the appropriation of profit proposed by the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board be rejected.

Rationale:

The proposed dividend, which remains the same as in the previous year, is too high. A significant reduction would be appropriate in view of BASF’s investment needs and its ailing economic situation. A look back shows that income from operations (EBIT) fell significantly in 2022. In addition to the write-downs on Nord Stream 2, it is above all the massive write-downs on Wintershall Dea’s fossil fuel business in Russia that have given BASF an investment result of a record-breaking minus €4.9 billion in 2022. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/completely-inadequate-consequences-of-forced-labour-risks-in-china-our-countermotions/

10 Years After The Marikana Massacre: Still No Justice

On August 16, the murdered South African miners will be remembered worldwide. Platinum importer BASF bears responsibility for human rights and environmental protection

Marikana Massacre (from left above): South African police with shot miner at Nkaneng Hill; a surviving miner, Mzoxolo Magidwana, speaks at the BASF AGM 2017; protest outside the Lonmin AGM 2018 in London; protesting South African women in Marikana.

On 16 August 2012, 34 miners were shot dead at the Marikana platinum mine in South Africa. Plough Back the Fruits (PBTF), the South African-European campaign, reminds on the 10th anniversary of the massacre that miners are still imprisoned and many survivors are still waiting for the promised compensation and an official apology from those responsible. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/campaign-plough-back-the-fruits/10-years-after-the-marikana-massacre-still-no-justice/

Deals with Gazprom, dependence on fossil gas, deficits in climate protection and double standards regarding pesticides: Our countermotions

Re agenda item 3: Adoption of a resolution giving formal approval to the actions of the members of the Supervisory Board

The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany proposes that the actions of the members of the Supervisory Board for the 2021 financial year not be approved.

Rationale:

The Supervisory Board is still unable to credibly fulfil its role as the controlling body of the Board of Executive Directors in order to supervise BASF’s realignment independently, critically and constructively.

Shareholders’ dissatisfaction with the Supervisory Board remains high: At the 2021 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, almost 20 percent refused to approve the actions of the Supervisory Board under the new leadership of Dr. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/deals-with-gazprom-dependence-on-fossil-gas-deficits-in-climate-protection-and-double-standards-regarding-pesticides-our-countermotions/

Would it have made a difference? Marikana, BASF and the Supply Chain Act

From 2023, legislation will rule how BASF must meet its own human rights due diligence obligations. Would the Supply Chain Act have helped BASF respond more seriously to the apparent abuses at its then largest platinum supplier, Lonmin, after the Marikana massacre nine years ago? The answer to this question exposes the advantages, but also the shortcomings, of the bill currently being debated in German parliament.

By Tilman Massa, Ethical Shareholders Germany

German companies have had long enough to prove that they voluntarily comply with UN standards on respecting human rights in their supply chains. After it finally became clear last year that over 80 percent were not even close to doing so, the German government drew the consequences and cleared the way for a legal regulation. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/would-it-have-made-a-difference-marikana-basf-and-the-supply-chain-act/